Taxonomy (Triassic Divergence)
The major groups of life on Earth are somewhat different from that of our Earth, due to 200 million years of independent evolution. Embryophyta Embryophyta is the group containing the land plants. Lycopodiophyta Neomeia: The unusual "pseudo-seed" plants of the world, neomeiales are relatives of the club mosses that are quite successful in any environment wet enough to allow for spore transfer at least part of the year. Lycopodiopsida: The "club mosses," which are much more diverse in this timeline than in ours. Pteridophyta The ferns and horsetails Psilotopsida: Unusual fern-like plants found in moist areas worldwide. Equisetopsida: Commonly known as horsetails, they are much more common in this timeline than ours. Some are semi-aquatic, and a few lineages grow to large sizes. Marattiaceae: The "tree ferns" of everwet environments and their relatives. Pteridopsida: Traditional ferns, common worldwide. Pinophyta The familiar (and some not-so-familiar) evergreen conifers. Araucariaceae: Unusual conifers dominating the evergreen diversity of Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and parts of South America. Sciadopityaceae: The "umbrella pines" that make up the majority of conifer diversity in the world today. Pinaceae: The familiar pine-type trees, today found only as a few isolated genera in Eurasia. Cordaitales: Conifers of Australian and New Caledonian arid to semi-arid regions. Ginkgoales The fruiting, deciduous trees that today make up the majority of the diversity in some Laurasian seasonal forests. Cycadophyta Gymnosperm plants found as the understory of drier forests, especially in the southern continents. Gnetophyta Pseudograminoidea: The "false grasses" that use a rapid lifecycle and tolerance of harsh environmental conditions to make up the majority of flora in the savannas and prairies of the world. Flosophyta: The desert plants of deserts worldwide (to varying degrees) with a great capacity to store water and survive long periods without rain. These plants have an unusual flower-like structure that has allowed them to spread. Mollusca Diverse invertebrates characterized by having a mantle and an ancestral shell. Bivalvia The familiar double-shelled animals, today represented almost entirely by infaunal species. Pholadomyoida Somewhat uncommon marine clams with only one tooth or none at all. Myoida The most diverse group of bivalves, they are characterized by having long siphons that allow them to burrow into a variety of substrates. Veneroida Morphologically conservative bivalves that are most common in freshwater or estuarine environments. Cephalopoda Diverse, tentacled molluscs represented by some unusual groups that survived into the present day. Ammonoidea All living ammonoids are descendants of the ceriatitids, but they have radiated into a number of different forms. Coleoidea The typically reef-dwelling cephalopods without external shells. Belemnitida: Squid-like animals with internal shells, today found primarily in and around reefs and in the deep ocean. Phragmoteuthida: Relatives of the belemnites with chambered internal shells, thus limiting them to shallow environments. Octopoda: The familiar octopodes, limited mostly to reef and deep water environments closed to the ammonoids. Gastropoda "Snails" and their relatives. Opisthobranchia Typically slug-like gastropods characterized by having gills behind the heart. Gymnomorpha The "true slugs" and their relatives. Prosobranchia "Sea snails" characterized by having the gills in front of the heart. Pulmonata The familiar land snails. Brachiopoda The primary epifaunal "shellfish" of this timeline. Strophomenida: The often aggregated brachiopods that tend to grow on hard substrates. Rhynchonellida: Reclining brachiopods found worldwide. Terebratulida: Less common deep water brachiopods that tend to live cemented onto hard substrates. Lingula: The single genus left of its group, this brachiopod is an uncommon burrower in nearshore environments. Echinodermata Spiny-skinned deuterostomes with superficial radial symmetry and a unique water-vascular system. Crinozoa Main article: Crinozoa (Triassic Divergence) Today represented by the crinoids, these are sessile, usually stalked echinoderms that filter particles from the water column. Most live as isolated animals on reefs or else in the deep ocean, but this timeline still has a few crinoid beds left in some places around the world. Asterozoa The "star shaped" echinoderms. Ophiuroidea: Commonly called "brittle stars," these animals are usually scavengers or predators that use their arms to move across the sediment. Asteroidea:' '''The familiar "sea stars" or "starfish," which move using their tube feet. Echinozoa The "spikey" echinoderms. '''Echinoidea: '''The sea urchins, both epifaunal and infaunal. '''Holothuroidea': The unusual (even for echinoderms) sea cucumbers, which have adapted to a variety of lifestyles. Conodonta (Chordata) Jawless marine chordates with an intricate mouth mechanism characterized by the presence of "conodont elements." Cyclostomata (Vertebrata) The mostly familiar lamprey and hagfish: jawless fish limited in range and habit by the conodonts Chondrichthyes (Gnathostomata) The cartilaginous sharks and chimaerae, today finding a good deal of thier diversity in freshwater habitats. Holocephali '' Main Article: Holocephali (Triassic Divergence)'' The chimaerae, finding the majority of their diversity in freshwater habitats. Archaeochimaeria: '''The marine chimaerae, which may or may not form a monophyletic grouping. '''Australochimaeria: The freshwater chimaerae of Oceania. Neochimaeria: The group containing most of the freshwater holocephalans found in the Americas. Fluvochimaeria: One of the two "Old World" groups of chimaerae, they are more active in the water column than their relatives and have diversified into a number of species in the African Rift Lakes. Benthochimaeria: The bottom-feeding "Old World" chimaerae (also found into North America), most common in Africa. Xenacanthida The exclusively freshwater sharks found in the Americas and Africa. Afroxenacanthidae: The few remaining African xenacanths. Neoxenacanthidae: The most extensive group of xenacanths in range, found in the Americas from Patagonia to the Mississippi River. Alloxenacanthidae: One of the two groups of xenacanths found in the Americas, they are limited to the Amazon basin and have a highly unusual body form. Ctenacanthida The primary group of marine "sharks," though most are bottom-feeders. Actinopterygii (Osteichthyes) The ray-finned fishes, showing a greater overall diversity than in our timeline but a smaller species number. Polypterifomes The bichir-like predatory fish of the Old World. Acipenseriformes The sturgeon-like and paddlefish-like fish that have become very diverse, especially in the northern continents. Acipenseria: The familiar sturgeon and their relatives, most common in Europe. Polyodontia: The paddlefish and their relatives: filter-feeding chondrostians fround in many northern freshwater environments and marine environments worldwide. Holostei The most diverse group of ray-finned fishes, represented by a number of lineages found primarily in the north. Lepisosteiformes The gar, which have radiated into a variety of niches in both freshwater and marine habitats. Amiiformes The bowfin fishes, common small to midsize predators especially across Eurasia. Laurentiamiidae: The amiiformes native to North America. They are the most morphologically conservative group, feeding by suction as the basal amiiformes are thought to have done. Percamiidae: The "bowfin perches" that fill the majority of the small to midsize freshwater predatory roles in Eurasia. This group tends to feed by suction. Venatoramiidae: The large predatory bowfin of Eurasia's lakes and rivers. Teleostei "Living fossils" found in some of the world's deeper oceans. Sarcopterygii (Osteichthyes) The lobe-finned fishes, showing a much greater diversity and range than in our timeline. Coelocanthimorpha The diverse, predatory "lobe-finned" fish of the world's oceans. Dipnoi The lungfish, found on every continent except Antarctica and very diverse in freshwater habitats. Tetrapodomorpha The "land vertebrates" and their extinct relatives (see rest of taxonomy) "Amphibia" (Tetrapoda) Limnarchia Main Article: Limnarchia (Triassic Divergence) The enormous aquatic amphibians of Australia. Lissamphibia The familiar "amphibians" of our timeline, as well as some not-so-familiar "amphibians." Gymnophiona: The caecilians, much diverse in this timeline than ours due to the lack of snakes. Allocaudata: Superficially salamander-like amphibians found in Eurasia. Caudata: The salamanders and newts, with some unusual forms that evolved in the absence of lizards. Anura: The frogs and toads, somewhat more diverse than in our timeline. Synapsida (Amniota) Mammals and their close relatives found worldwide. Cynognathia The dominant terrestrial animals of Australia, also represented by a few forms in the Americas. Mammaliaformes Sprawling, usually insectivorous animals found on every continent except Australia. Ichthyosauria (Amniota) Unusual shark-like reptiles of the world's oceans and a few larger rivers. Testudines (Amniota) The turtles, very similar to those of our timeline. Nothosauria (Lepidosauromorpha) Marine reptiles of the world's oceans, with some semi-aquatic and terrestrial representatives. Amphibonothosauria: One of two lineages of semi-aquatic coastal nothosaurs, generally found in waters around the Americas. Neonothosauria: The second of the two coastal nothosaurs, found primarily around Old World and Oceanian coastlines. Aotearoasauria: The fully-terrestrial nothosaurs of New Zealand. Pseudoplesiosauria: Fully marine reptiles found in warm oceans across the world. Lepidosauria (Lepidosauromorpha) The lizards, snakes, and tuatara of our timeline, here represented by some rather unusual lineages. Sphenodontia Primarily lizard-like reptiles found in warm to temperate environments worldwide. Squamata Main Article: Squamata (Triassic Divergence) The "lizards," today primarily found as arboreal or gliding reptiles in low latitudes across the globe. Scansosauria: Rare, partially arboreal lizards. Bratosauria: Fully arboreal insectivores. Volasauria: Gliding lizards represented by a few insectivorous genera. Phytosauria (Archosauromorpha) Mostly semi-aquatic crocodile-like reptiles found on every continent except Europe and Antarctica. Redondasauria The phytosaurs of the Americas (with one genus found in temperate Asia), they are characterized by enlargements of skull bone. Nicrosauria The dominant phytosaurs across most of the Old World, they are fround from southern Africa to Australia. Islasauria Mostly terrestrial phytosaurs found in warm environments in Africa and southern Asia. They are most diverse in the Asiatic islands of Indonesia. Avemetatarsalia (Archosauromorpha) The "bird-line" archosaurs, more diverse by species number than those of the "crocodile-line." Pterosauria The endothermic reptiles that make up the majority of the world's larger flying animals. Passeropterosauria: The most common and successful group of pterosaurs, they are found on every continent and major land mass except Antarctica. Raptoropterosauria: The typically predatory (and often large) pterosaurs found worldwide. Ichthyopterosauria: The "sea pterosaurs," which are typically piscivorous. A few filter-feeding species are known, however. Dinosauria Two interesting and diverse lineages of saurischians survived into the present day. Metasauropoda: '''The long-necked herbivores of the Americas. '''Neosauria: Diverse animals (usually carnivores or omnivores) present on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Pseudosuchia (Archosauromorpha) The "crocodile-line" archosaurs. Aetosauria The usually armored herbivores of the warmer environments of the world. Americanaetosauria: The group containing all the aetosaurs of the New World. They form a monophyletic lineage that is the sister group to all other living aetosaurs. Ruminosauria: The "grazing aetosaurs" of the Old World. They have a unique development of chewing teeth and tend to swallow stones to aid in digestion. Radixosauria: Old World aetosaurs with rooting snouts and modified digging forelimbs. Velocisuchia Quick crocodilians found as small predators in the New World. Shuvosauria Lightly-built and superficially dinosaur-like suchians found across the low latitudes of the Old World. Neopoposauria Extremely diverse and unusual endothermic, feathered suchians that have filled a variety of niches. Cursorosuchia: A variety of neopoposaurs, both herbivorous and carnivorous, adapted to quick or distance movement. Oceanopoposauria: Long, snakelike neopoposaurs that dominate many regions of the world's oceans in a variety of niches. Fossorosuchia: Stocky neopoposaurs with digging adaptations. Category:Triassic Divergence